Dark Shadows/O
Old House The Old House was once the provincial mansion of the Collins family up until the late 18th century. Located on the Collins estate near Widows' Hill, it was formally known as the first Collinwood. Joshua Collins was the patriarch of the last generation of Collins family members to be raised there. Dark Shadows: 366 In 1796, construction was completed on a larger family home on the same property and this would soon come to be known as the "Great House" at Collinwood. After which, the original family mansion began to be referred to simply as the Old House. With the passing of generations, this off-hand phrase became the official nomenclature for the regal estate. In the year 1897, two gypsies named Sandor and Magda Rakosi briefly squatted inside the Old House. They were the last known occupants of the home for the next sixty years Dark Shadows: 701 By the 1960s, the Collins family (under Elizabeth Collins Stoddard) had little interest in the maintenance of the home and the Old House fell into grave disrepair. Young David Collins frequently visited the ruins and regarded the house as a massive playground. He could often be found hanging about the dusty parlor talking to the Portrait of Josette Collins, which still hung above the mantle. Dark Shadows: 212 In 1967 the vampire, Barnabas Collins, petitioned Elizabeth Collins Stoddard to allow him to renovate the Old House. Dark Shadows: 218 Elizabeth was reluctant at first, but soon gave Barnabas her blessing. With his unwilling servant, Willie Loomis, Barnabas moved into what was once his childhood home Dark Shadows: 220 Barnabas Collins and Victoria Winters once held a conversation comparing the Old House to the pyramids of Egypt. Barnabas gave a detailed description of the house's construction in which he said – :: "The design and construction of this house represented a marriage of the elegance of Europe and the vigor and enterprise of a new world. The foundations were made from rocks left behind by glaciers, thousands of years ago. The beams and supports were cut from ancient local forests. The plaster walls were made from crushed clamshells and horsehair. Bricks were imported from Holland. That dusty chandelier - brought over from France - gleamed with hypnotic brilliance. That faded wallpaper was specially designed by a Belgian artist. The parquet floors were installed by an Italian craftsman. Cornices and moldings were the effort of a Spanish craftsman. It was a house to be envied by a prince. But in spite of all this, the total effort was an agony to man. Men were driven to their limits. What should have been an act...a labor of love – became a hateful thing. There were the crippled and the dead. Like the pyramids, one could ask…was it worth it?" Dark Shadows: 214 Old House secret chamber A small secret room existed behind a book shelf in the parlor on the interior wall adjacent to the mantle. In 1796, Ben Stokes hid fugitives Peter Bradford and Victoria Winters inside this secret room shortly after they had escaped from jail. In 1840, the scheming Gerard Stiles correctly deduced that Barnabas Collins was a vampire and tried to expose him by breaking into the secret room. With the help of Angelique, Barnabas prevented Gerard from entering the room and discovering his coffin. In 1897, Barnabas Collins - again a vampire, attacked Dirk Wilkins and brought him to the Old House. He hid him away in the secret chamber until he could recover from his wounds, but Dirk escaped. Dark Shadows: 770 Barnabas later had to conceal his coffin inside the secret chamber. The coffin was was discovered by Count Petofi (possessing the body of Jamison Collins) and Aristede, who forced Magda the Gyspy to reveal it's location. Fortunately for Barnabas, he was not present when they entered to drive a stake through his heart. Dark Shadows: 808 In 1970, Barnabas imprisoned the vampire Roxanne Drew inside his old coffin and bound it within chains inside the secret room. A psychic named Sebastian Shaw discovered Roxanne's coffin and tried to destroy her, but Barnabas convinced him that he could keep Roxanne contained. References